The Story of our lives
by itcanhappen
Summary: Starts from when both Emily and Hotch started being aware of each other and how they enter into a relationship and their lives henceforth.  Includes Jack,JJ,Derek,Reid,Dave and Garcia. The family with H&P focus.Multi Chapter fic.
1. Chapter 1

Hi Everyone, This is my first fanfic, so i do hope you will be gentle with your expectations. I am a through and through Hotch Prentiss shipper. I am not very adept at Casefic so the premise is from the series but ofcourse i DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS. This story borrows from the series but i have included thoughts and events to further build my fiction this is true for the timeline of events as well. This is a multi chapter story. Hopefully you will enjoy this story.

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><p>It was difficult for Emily to pinpoint exactly as to when that moment was when she started having more than friendly feelings for her boss SSA Aaron Hotchner. All she knew was that recently she became more aware of his presence when he was in the room. She found herself looking forward to their interactions while on a case and at a subconscious level she also found herself taking extra care when she got ready for work. Having heard from Reid that his wife had left him, she was extra careful to not let these emotions show or even discuss this with or Derek. She just happened to be taken in by his integrity,charisma and his compassion for the victims and their families. In time, she told herself, she will get over it and move on.<p>

Though there was an initial reluctance Hotch seemed to warm upto her and valued her inputs as a team member and there was nothing from him to suggest that he probably had noticed her more than any of his other colleagues.

It was late in the evening when JJ had called her asking her to meet the team at a local mall. A young girl was missing and the team had to race against time. The numerous times Reid had reminded them that chances of a child surviving the abduction keep slimming every few hours. As soon as she reached the scene of the crime she got into the groove of things and she was immediately dispatched to speak to the missing girl's family. While Hotch and JJ were talking to the family Emily was trying to make sense of the responses by the missing girl's uncle,aunt and cousin. She started to get that gut feeling telling her that there was something amiss in their reaction and all the years of training kicked into her and she started noticing the subtext in what each of them was saying. Mentally she noted that she would later sift through them and look for vital clues and leads into what they probably were not telling her at this point.

Meanwhile Garcia, Derek and Reid were working with the other local teams. JJ conselled the missing girl's mother and she agreed to make an announcement appealing to the Unsub and Derek and Reid were onto something with the girls cousin Jeremy. They thought that he was hiding something Derek and Reid were talking to the boy, Emily noticed that the aunt was unusually agitated and decided to talk to her. The aunt lookas at Emily and says, "one minute i was buying a lighter for my husband and the next minute i hear Katie's name being paged on the intercom." Emily nods and in order to comfort her says these things happen. She in the meanwhile is piecing together everything she has noticed and will share this with the team during the mid case review they would have anytime Derek and Reid were ready.

Before that could happen Hotch called her over with the instruction that the cousin and the uncle had to be separated to 2 rooms immediately. Herself and Hotch started questioning the uncle, together they had proven to be extremely successful interrogators, the professional chemistry between them was evident and they took off where the other left using effective non verbal cue's even most partners who have worked years could not do so efficiently.

Together they used all the information gathered and built their pressure on the uncle to a crescendo till the uncle confessed to molesting the little girl. This disgusted Hotch and as he pulled Emily aside, she wished there was someway she could console Hotch before the earlier interviews with the family came back as a flash to her. She turned immediately to the uncle and said, "you know for the most stressful day of your life you have not smoked one cigarette." He in defeat responded, "I quit, a month ago." This brought back several important snippets to Emily. Especially the part where the aunt said she was here to buy a lighter for her husband, this lead to an unraveling of several other dark and painful details which eventually led to the revelation that the Aunt was the Unsub and she had abducted the little girl to protect her husband and her marriage.

Derek, Reid and Garcia chose to see this case as a victory especially because there was no physical harm to the little girl. Emily was sickened to the core by the existence of such monsters in such a seemingly normal family, there were sick serial killers but the realization that evil was closer home than they realized set her pondering. JJ who was the more trusting member of the team was taken aback by the deception that could exist within straight laced individuals. Hotch was the most affected as he was reminded of how vulnerable his little boy could be in the safest of environments. After a quick summary of the case Derek and Reid were back to their banter with Garcia chipping in. JJ left early as she had prior commitments but Hotch noticed that Emily was still a bit pensive, he quickly pushed that thought back to his head and rushed to see his little boy just to make sure that though there was evil, innocence still existed.

When Hotch was back to his lonely apartment strangely he felt this compulsion to reach out to Emily, just to hear from her and to also ensure that she was ok, as Unit Chief it was his responsibility to ensure objectivity on the job. Without realizing it he sent out a text to Emily

_"Prentiss, are you ok?"_

Emily in her apartment was going over her day, recalling every reaction of her boss and every nuance of him she found so endearing. She also shuddered at the absolute fury and disgust that he had shown toward the uncle. Just then she heard her phone beep. She was taken aback with the text, taken aback but also pleasantly surprised. Though she knew it was a professional question she delighted in the communication from him. She immediately typed back.

_"Yes, but i think you need to be asked that question. Did you get to see Jack?"_

Hotch was taken aback with the immediate response and the intuitive question. He slightly smiled and responded

_" Saw an asleep Jack, not complaining though. You looked rather pensive and not like an agent who put away the bad guy. Anything you want to tell me?"_

Emily bit her lip. If she was honest would he think her to be too fragile. If she brushed him aside would he snatch away from her and not connect with her. "Great" she thought to herself "why can't i have normal issues like acne or bad hair days?"

"_I was wondering what would happen to the little boy, both his parents have been sent away. Hoping his uncle and aunt will let love prevail and not punish him for his parents sins."_

Hotch was totally taken aback with her response. He could not believe that she went through so many dimensions. It was no wonder that Derek had so easily accepted her as his best mate, to Reid she was the elder sister and to JJ and Garcia the girlfreind like no other. He now realized that Emily had this ability to extend herself and accommodate her emotions and support to be so many things to everybody. He wished Hayley had that ability. He immediately chastised himself and stopped that thought from forming. He attributed that stray thought to being tired. He quickly responded a terse:

_"These things will work themselves out. Please ensure this does not affect your you in the office at 9 tomorrow"_

_"_Wow" Emily thought how foolish she thought there was something more to the sms than a supervisory concern!. Sighing she got herself ready for bed chiding herself for letting silly emotions get the better of her.


	2. Chapter 2

This Chapter mainly establishes relationship between the team and introduces Rossi. I promise next chapter onwards i will get cracking with the story. Please please please do review. thank you!

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><p>The next day Emily turned upto work, not the happiest person in the world. She almost winced as soon as she heard Garcia chirpily greeting Derek and JJ who were already in the bullpen "Goodmorning my lovelies. Did you guys sleep well last night". Derek smiled that sexy smile of his and JJ noticed Emily's 'not so chirpy' demeanor " Everything alright Em?" she asked.<p>

"Oh yeah everything is fine, a restless night that's all" Emily replied…grabbing the coffee Derek was almost going to sip. "Hey" he cried out "Do you mind? What's the matter Em too much of a dry spell? Not enough 'Action' on the field?"

Emily gave him a stare and was about to hit him when from behind Reid entered the room saying "You know in popular culture need for coffee is often used as an analaogy for sex. "

JJ and Derek could not control their chuckles as Hotch walked in, they quickly gathered themselves and he asked them to meet him in the conference room in 10 minutes.

Hotch wanted to inform them about a new entrant to the team David Rossi. "Good morning guys, before you heard it from the grapevine just wanted to let you know that we are going to have a new member in our team, the legendary David Rossi."

"You mean THE David Rossi, the seriously swimming in millions, insanely famous author David Rossi?" Emily asked him. He tried to ignore the warmth spread through him as she spoke but was quick to point out "he will be an equal member of this team. You will all welcome him and do well to remember that the BAU exists today because of pioneers like him"

After a few more questions from the others the team dispersed to complete the ton of paperwork due from each of them. As Derek and Emily walked back to their desks Emily wondered aloud " How many times a year do you think Hotch smiles?"

Without batting an eyelid Derek quipped back "You think he smiles to himself while brushing his teeth or while shaving?". Emily chuckled. She loved hanging out with this team. She got to be herself she and had a special relationship with each one of the team members and she felt that she finally belonged.

The next few hours went by with everybody engrossed in their work when Hotch walked upto the bullpen addressing the team " Guys it is that time of the year, the bureau is conducting their recruitment drives. Given Reids age Chief Strauss feels he will be a good bet this year again but he will have to be joined by someone else from the team. "

Hotch could hear a chorus of groans when Emily cried " I call first I am NOT going" Derek and JJ cursed themselves for not being fast enough. Reid just stood there looking lost. Hotch gave his typical crossed eyebrow expression " Is there something I should be aware of?"

"Did you not hear about the so not funny existentialist joke he tried on the poor kids last year?" Derek look surprisingly at Hotch."Garcia said that the joke went viral for how NOT funny it was" JJ added. Emily in the meanwhile feeling bad cut them " Fine reid boy I will go with you. Derek and JJ you do post case summary for a month and you Reid I swear to God as much as I love you any jokes up there and I will make sure you wished we never met."

"Fine, it was funny…let me explain" started Reid…Hotch left the group in groans. As he walked back to his room even to himself he could not help chuckling at the scene…Emily was ruffling Reid's hair while JJ and Derek were patiently listening to his explanation. As he went to his room he saw that Dave had already made himself comfortable.

"Hi Dave. It is an honour to have you back and to be working with you" Hotch welcomed him still chuckling.

"It is great to be back here, feel new and different but feels like home if you know what I mean?" responded Dave. "So is that the team?" he asked Hotch pointing through the blinds. I know we are not supposed to profile the team but if I may….The lanky Boy over there is the baby of the group you can make out by the way the rest of you stood around him that you value his opinion and are very proud of him but still treat him like a kid. The brunette ruffles his hair the beefed up guy and the blonde indulge him when he speaks." He looked at Hotch for a reaction. Hotch just smiled to "I see you still are the instinctive profiler Dave, do go on"

"What and tell you stuff about your team you don't know. Information my friend is power…so if you do not mind I will hold the rest of the profiling to myself till an appropriate time" Dave said before turning back to Hotch.

Hotch just chuckled. All he told Dave before taking him over for introductions was that "These are some of the brightest and most dedicated people you will meet Dave. I am so proud to be working with them and it is only because of that I ignore their high school pack behavior" sighing he walked Dave over to the team.

As Emily watched Hotch talking to someone in his room she wondered to herself about the brief text conversation they had last night. She made a note to herself to stop noticing every little detail about Hotch when he was around them. When he had come down earlier she could not help but smell how fresh he smelt and how impeccable his hair always was. Though she made the comment of him not smiling ever, she knew that his eyes smiled whenever he saw his team together. Sighing she looked back on her computer screen only to find Garcia intently staring at her through the webcam. Emily jumped "GARCIA you got to stop doing that!"

"Nice try eyed day dreamer. That look calls for a girls night out with lots of alcohol. You missy better be prepared to spill it all. Ta off to ping Jayje…this is so exciting" so saying Garcia signed off. All Emily could do was start thinking of plausible cover up stories. She could not think for long, JJ walked over to the bull pen with that tense expression of hers which could only mean one thing.

"Ready Bag time" Reid looked at Derek and Emily. All of them filed in to the meeting room instinctively ready to start cracking a case together.

They all took in the info that JJ was giving them. Florida this time, the mutilated body of a girl had just been found with an inverted pentagram a sign of Satanic Cult carved on to her upper torso. The dump site was known for alligators, at this info Emily in her dry humor said "Suddenly I do not feel so guilty aboutm y alligator wallet" Hotch found himself noting this detail about her. While he was processing this he could hear her confidently say that Satanic cults were debunked. He waited as Rossi sarcastically asked her "really?" to which Reid smugly informed her that it was Rossi who had so brilliantly debunked this theory with hard facts. Hotch could not help but indulgently smile at her 'humbled' expression, he was increasingly finding her endearing something he thought to review with himself later when the case had settled.

As they all efficiently gathered their belongings in an all too familiar routine Dave could not help noticing that Emily had 3 ready bags by her desk. Reid noticing his expression explained to him "That is Emily's way of being prepared. Ready Bag 1: Big City crime fighting Ready Bag 2: Beach and Seaside crime fighting and Ready Bag 3:Places of colder weather crime fighting" Dave looked at him to check If the young boy was joking and apparently he was not. Derek muttered "You are so gonna get beaten up kid even she does not know we went through her stuff. Prepare for war"

Not far behind from them Hotch gave an all too knowing look at Dave " High School meet FBI, do not say you were not warned!"


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for the reviews and the subscriptions. I hope you like this new chaper. will post another one tonight as well. Happy Reading.

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><p>The past couple of weeks had been tough on the team, they had some pretty tough cases and Penelope's shooting had brought them closer if that were possible. The team was now on the plane making their way to California. 2 friends had been abducted both girls and the body of one was found and they had to profile and catch the Unsub hopefully before the other victim was harmed. The specifics of the case were discussed and the team had all gone into their individual zones, Derek listening to music, Reid diving into a book. JJ pensive dealing with the emotions of the case rather than the facts.<p>

Emily was sitting alone staring outside the window wondering if they would get there on time and hoping that this would be one of the cases were they would reach the victim before it was too late. Sitting across her was Hotch, he chose to sit with her. These days it was not uncommon to see Hotch sitting next to Emily during case briefings or on the plane rides. He also partnered with her to visit crime scenes or family interviews. He had settled into this comfortable routine with her while working a case and he enjoyed her presence and her dry humor.

As she turned away from the window she found Hotch looking at her. This was not the first time. She did not dare think that he may be interested in her after all. All she knew was that the 2 of them had progressed into something of a friendship and she did not want to affect that balance with reading too much into the situation.

"What are you thinking of?" he asked her. He always liked quizzing her and she never stopped surprising him. Once during a case briefing while they were waiting for JJ to fetch the files, he noticed she had become pensive and when he asked her what she was thinking she very honestly replied " I was wondering why Mr Liu's took their Dragon chicken off the menu."

"I was just hoping that we would find the other girl in time. Do you ever think about our victims who survived? Do you think they truly survived or are their lives one long nightmare?" Emily asked him

"You will be surprised Emily people are stronger than what you and I know them to be. And I like to think that life and time has the ability to conquer even the worst of nightmares." Hotch responded to her query.

"Hotch?" Emily wanted to probe more but was not sure. She also was secretly thrilled that he had called her by her name.

"Mmm?" Hotch loved the way she said his name. He enjoyed their little conversations.

"Do you ever get tired fighting the evil, at the end of every case you know there is some other creep somewhere else and that our job is far from over.

" Yes I know what you are saying but the knowledge that we are making a difference one creep at a time helps me fall asleep. Well and lately I find myself not being as tired." He looked at her pointedly his face sans expression but his eyes conveying the unsaid words.

Emily looked into those eyes. She was wary of interpreting what he may have meant and immediately looked away, glad that the pilot had announced landing.

They went directly to the crime scene and what they saw was not pleasant at all. Hotch and Rossi seemed to be on the edge with this case. After reviewing the crime scene they went back to the department and set up shop. Identifying which one of the girls where the dead victim was proving to be difficult because of the mutilated face. Morgan was able to pull out a recording from a phone which Garcia had successfully transcript and digitized. It seemed that getting the parents listen to the recording and identify their daughter's voice was the fastest way to ID the victim.

Even as he suggested that Hotch could see that Emily was hesitant to put them through that trauma. There was nt other way though. Once this difficult step was over Hotch assigned tasks to his team. Morgan ,Rossi and Reid were to go over the victims homes the next day morning. He decided to take Emily along with him to the place from where the girls were abducted. It was already night so they all decided to head to the local hotel and start afresh the next day.

Back at the hotel they all decided to get something to eat at the diner just across their hotel They found a six seat booth Rossi ,Reid and JJ sat opposite Hotch Emily and Derek. The mood was rather somber as they realized that with each passing minute the prospects of finding the other girl alive were not good.

Derek nudged Emily and pointed his head towards JJ. That girl seemed to be texting someone a lot these days. Reid was sitting next to JJ but he was looking everywhere except at Derek and Emily. She decided to kick him under the table.

"Ow! What?" Reid winced looking at Derek and Emily. Emily flushed because Hotch looked pointedly at her.

"Sorry was just stretching" she said faintly scowling at Reid. She then fished out her phone and texted Reid.

"_Yo skin and bones…who do u think JJ is texting? She has been doing this a lot lately. Is it a special someone?"_

Frustratingly he did not respond maybe his phone was on silent because she did not hear it beep either. Their dinner had arrived by then and she could not pursue further. After dinner while she was unpacking in her room when she heard her phone beep. She checked, only to see a text from Hotch.

"_I sincerely hope this text about JJ's texing habit was not meant for me" _

Emily groaned and cursed herself. Hotch was seriously invading her thoughts! She quickly typed back

"_That was meant for Reid. So so sorry Hotch. How come you are awake though?_

Her phone immediately beeped and she could not help but grin at the response.

"_Was checking myself out and wondering from where and which angle I looked skin and bones to you then I figured you were talking abt Reid!"_

Hotch's phone immediately beeped back.

"_Sorry about that. I think I know what is keeping you awake. Do you want to go over and check the abduction site which is the local cinema. I am sure there is a show on now and it will probably put you at ease as well"_

Hotch realized that this is the exact reaon why he was drawn to this crazy brunette. She was so tuned in to his moods. He quickly responded back asking her to meet him at the lobby in 5 minutes.

Emily informed JJ and Derek that they were going to the abduction site and left. Once they were at the cinema they noticed 2 girls dressed provocatively and smoking. He looked at them and asked her if she thought their parent knew these girls smoked.

"My parents did not know and they would have freaked out if they saw me dressed like that!" She responded. He chuckled and they took in the scene and as always through efficient and mutual deductions came to the conclusion that the victims knew the Unsub personally.

While they were walking back Hotch looked to her and said

"I did not know you smoked."

She loved the way his voice became more deeper and intimate when it was just the 2 of them.

"I smoked and then decided bullets were far cooler way to die than the cancer stick" she responded

He chuckled. Amused at the way she always bounced back with humor. He looked at her and she looked back…both of them smiled at each other.

"So it looks like you have turned Reid and Derek into gossiping girls?" Amusement catching his tone.

She laughed deeply "They turned me into a gossiping girl! You have no idea!" She responded. They both laughed and continued their walk to the hotel in a companionable silence.

"So this is what it is" Emily said after a few moments.

"Sorry?" Hotch did not quite gather what she meant to say.

"So this is what companionable silence is. The 2 of us walking together and not feeling the need to talk further because words are sometimes not needed" She explained.

Hotch felt his whole being filled with a warm emotion that he could not comprehend. Emotions and the acknowledgement of those emotions came so reluctantly to him and here he was with this girl who so easily verbalized what was happening between them.

"Yes Emily I guess this is what it is!" So saying he lightly touched her nose with his index finger and walked on into the lobby of the hotel. Before entering the elevator he turned back and said:

"Goodnight….Companion!"

Emily almost hopped back to her room. She did not know what just happened but all she knew was that they were headed to somewhere good.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning at 6 a.m Emily was out in the front of the lobby stretching as she was waiting for Derek to join her. They pair of them always ran together while on cases, they shared their fears and found solace in each other's company during this time. Once the day got cracking it became difficult for any of them to find personal time or even time to spend with each other.

Derek stepped out of the lobby with Reid in tow. Emily raised her eyebrows

"Reid muffin you are running with us this morning….really? " Emily asked him

"I wanna catch up on all the news, you both always share the juicy bits on this run and it really is not fair to the rest of us!"

"Kid we don't always gossip you know….today yes we will but not always." Derek said as he stretched.

In a few minutes they hit the road and without ceremony Derek asked her, "So what's the story Prentiss?"

"Mary had a little lamb and apparently it followed her everywhere she went. Can you believe that?" Emily replied, she was not comfortable with the question. Derek could be asking her about JJ but what if he had noticed that Hotch had always paired himself with her in the recent past.

"Stop messing with me! So do you know the juice on JJ or not?" Derek shot back.

"Was that why you were kicking me under the table? because yeah I noticed the incessant texting." Reid chipped in.

"Great! NOW the boy genius gets why I was kicking him. Yea about the texting do any of us know anything?" Emily responded beyond relieved that her secret was safe….for now.

"I think it is someone who is not in DC" Reid said and continuing "because she seems to text him at the same time everyday and it is not like she is spending less time with us" he concluded

"Well caught my Reid muffin ,will see if Garcia has anything we do not" Emily said.

"Whatever she has got going I hope she is happy." Derek said and then he looked to Emily "So how was the visit to the abduction site" he asked her "did you guys find out anything useful"

Emily fighting hard to keep her expression neutral responded," Yeah I mean it is fairly well lit and a busy street so abduction would really not be possible so we think that the victims may have know the Unsub." She continued jogging with her head straight.

Derek looked at her, there was something amiss, and he could feel it "and?" he prodded.

"And nothing except that Reid here is gasping for dear life. Tell you what let's turn back and Reid can split at the hotel while we continue." Emily shot back praying that her response convinced Derek.

"Yep let's do that, Kid turn back, we decided we will keep you alive till the end of the case." So saying the trio jogged back.

Once back at the hotel Emily showered and hopped into the diner to meet the rest of the team. They had agreed to meet at 7:30 for breakfast before heading to their respective tasks. Emily saw that JJ was there and the others were yet to join

"Good morning pretty face. You're looking nice." She greeted JJ as she sat across her and signaled for coffee.

JJ smiled back warmly and then her expression changed to a menacing one as she said," So Garcia and I have been talking."

"Really JJ sorry to break your heart, but she kinda happens to do that with all of us" Emily retorted with pleasant sarcasm but not liking JJ's expression.

"Well Ms. Prentiss let's hope that she has not told everyone about what she told me!" Carried on determined to torture Emily "Well she told me that a certain brunette team member had a certain mushy eyed look on her face while she was looking towards what seemed like our Unit Chief's cabin."

Emily could not hide her blush quick enough and she noticed that Derek and Hotch were heading from across the road to the diner so she quickly responded, "Damn it! I was hoping Garcia would kinda forget that one after getting shot. No such luck there. Can we please talk about it later?"

JJ with a satisfied expression said," Fine as long as you will state only the truth I am fine with it"

Emily sank back gratefully as she saw Hotch and Derek followed by Reid and Rossi enter the diner. Hotch looked at her and raised his eyebrow in acknowledgement as he sat slid in next to JJ and Emily in response smiled back warmly. He did not look like he regretted last night Emily noted relieved to a large extent. The team spent 30 mins going over breakfast and details about the case before going their separate ways.

As Hotch got in to the driver's seat he was trying to make sense of the little flip his heart did when he saw Emily this morning. She did not seem awkward over last night and the smile she gave him reached right upto her eyes and warmed his entire being.

Given the nature of their job profilers were used to surprises but this twist was something even they could not see coming. The victim's father was under witness protection and the team may have got the entire profile wrong. The man pretending to be a family friend of the missing girl was actually an US Marshall. Hotch was not a happy man. He hated it when people had their own hidden agenda which affected their investigation.

He was aggressive in his interrogation, the father of the victim needed to divulge information which could be vital to the investigation. Before they could get anywhere the local team gave them a tip off about a possible location. They rushed to the scene only to find that they could be facing multiple Unsubs and that this definitely was a local team. What made it worse is that one of the Unsubs was found dead in the abandoned site and he was a teenage boy. Everyone was shaken with the enormity of the situation; they were now looking at high school boys who were egged on by a dominant boy.

The family of the dead boy needed to be informed. Garcia pulled out the boy's record and Hotch chose to deliver the news to the boy's father. He asked Emily to go along with him, he needed somebody who would be sensitive yet focused enough to deliver the news yet probe the grieved man for information that could be vital.

Even as they delivered the news to this father, Emily consoled him appropriately while Hotch gently sought further information. It was painful to see the pain and anguish that the father was going through. This made Hotch so angry and helpless; they all realized that the boy whose body they discovered was a shy boy who probably was forced to commit the acts he did. But right now they needed to focus. Emily worked with Garcia and Derek,JJ and Hotch co-ordinated with Reid who figured out a possible site where the girl could be held. It looked like Reid would get there before the rest of the team could. Hotch asked him to go ahead but to be careful.

Reid reached the site first to find the girl alive but the girl's father pointing his gun at the Unsub. Reid tried to level with him but at the end the rage of the father took over and he shot the Unsub point blank.

As the team rushed in they heard a shot, all of them accelerated their approach knowing that Reid was in there. Thankfully he was fine, a bit shaken with what he saw but otherwise fine. Emily, Derek and JJ surrounded him to ensure he was fine. Hotch and Rossi were defeated by the laws that they worked so hard to uphold, the girl's father was a strong witness and he was going to walk away without consequences.

On their plane ride back home the team was in a very somber mood. Emily kept glancing at Hotch who was sitting across the aisle, she knew that he was battling with conflicting emotions. She wanted to go over to him and speak to him but Reid at this point needed her more, he was fast sleep on her shoulder. She took out her cell phone and texted Hotch hoping he would see it.

"_Hotch I know you are angry. I know you are angry at the system where people are protected without reason and angry at how even sometimes Unsubs are the victims. That young boy who was the submissive one was not an Unsub he was forced to become one. Someone recently told me that we are making a difference on creep at a time. Besides even for you this frown is way too much!"_

Hotch heard his phone beep. These days only Emily texted him. He broke out of his thought and looked at her. She looked at him and gestured with a nod indicating that it was her who sent the text. Curious and pleasantly thrilled he read the text. Once he read it, he just shook his head and looked back at her indulgently and nodded his head in understanding.

"_Can I call you later tonight? Need to speak with you." _. Rossi slid into the seat across him blocking his line of vision to Emily so he was not able to see her reaction. He did get her response saying she would wait for his call.

Emily did not know what to make of the latest text from Hotch. Did he want to speak to her asking her to not be so familiar with him? Did he regret whatever was happening between them? Pensive she thought there was no point fretting over it she decided to wait till later, not like she had a choice in the matter anyway!


	5. Chapter 5

Once they landed at DC. Derek, JJ and Emily headed to Reid's apartment where Garcia was waiting for them. They all had dinner together and after ensuring that Reid was settled in they left to their individual apartments.

Once at the apartment Emily started her usual routine of settling in. She was certainly tensed and waiting for Hotch's call had made her unusually jumpy. She wished he would call soon, well that wish was granted soon enough. Her phone rang and she waited for a few rings before answering.

As she answered she heard Hotch's deep voice," Hey, it's me" he said. She internally groaned…why did he have to sound so intimate!

"Hi Hotch. Got home alright?" She responded in what she hoped was a normal tone.

"Oh yeah. Reid doing alright?" He asked her, his voice laced with concern.

"Yeah he will be fine." She replied.

"So Emily, as I said wanted to speak to you, is this a good time?" Hotch asked her. He was so nervous but Hotch being Hotch had decided that whatever was happening between Emily and himself needed to be addressed. He respected her too much to play games and she in turn seemed to have a calming yet unnerving effect on him which could not be ignored.

"As good a time as any Hotch. What did you want to speak about?" Emily asked him. She wanted to bite the bullet as soon as possible. No point in prolonging the inevitable she thought.

Hotch sighing deeply continued ," So Prentiss I request that you let me say my piece without interruption." He waited for her response and not getting any he spoke into his phone again ," hello? you there already?"

"You asked me not to interrupt" Emily responded praying that he could not hear her heart beating!

"Hmmm" Hotch said and continued, " Emily, I find myself in unfamiliar territory. You and I both cannot deny that in the past few weeks something has changed. I find myself seeking you out in the room, find myself wanting to be around you as much as possible and find myself turning to you for comfort when I need it. I'll be honest Emily I need you to be more than my colleague. Given our situation it is not as simple but I just wanted to find out how you feel. If you do not reciprocate the eagerness in getting to know each other I am fine with that. I promise you that I will ensure that there is nothing awkward between us and that we will go back to as things were. But if you also feel that the 2 of us are gravitating towards something more than friendship then…."He stopped realizing that he was rambling.

Silence on the other end. After a few moments he heard Emily squeak back ," Is it my turn now?"

Hotch even in this tense moment found himself smiling wishing that she was in front of him. If she were he would have taken her into a tight hug before allowing her to speak. God what was this woman doing to him?

" Ofcourse" He chuckled back.

Hotch could hear Emily take a deep breath, " Hotch, If you are being honest with me then it is only fair that I be honest with you as well. You make me feel like a girl, it may sound silly but the whole world when they see me they see the gun in my holster and the stern exterior. I am a FBI agent to the rest of the world. But when I am with you, I get to be a girl and I get to be the agent…am I making sense? Anyway to answer your question yes I would like to get to explore this growing 'non friendship'."

There she said it. Emily was almost shivering and could hear Hotch breathe on the other end of the phone. Both of them were feeling heady.

"Emily" Hotch sighed. He felt so complete and incomplete at this moment. He wished he had done this face to face, somehow words seemed insufficient to convey everything he was going through right now.

"Thank you. I was so scared you would not feel the same way. Do you want to meet me for breakfast tomorrow?" He asked her. He needed to see her outside work, there were too many things to say and once at the BAU it just would not happen.

"Hotch I will be eagerly waiting for tomorrow." Emily said softly. She could not believe what was happening. She did not know happiness could hurt so much.

"Till tomorrow then. And Emily…wherever this journey takes us I want you to know that you are special" Hotch said. "Sleep well and I will meet you at Joe's at 7 is that fine?" He concluded

"Yes Hotch, see you tomorrow. Goodnight." Emily said softly.

For both of them the morning could not get there sooner. Emily woke up with the biggest grin on her face. Hotch woke up for the first time in so many months feeling complete. Both of them got ready and headed to Joe's, This was a café a couple of blocks away from the office but the team loved the food there and whenever they could afford a long lunch they would head to this café.

Emily was there first and she decided on a table inside the café and she chose to sit with her back to the door, it was just too much anticipation. She was a tea drinker. She got herself a tea and slid into the chair. Just as she settled in she felt a gentle hand on her head. She looked up to see Hotch standing next to her looking warmly at her. All her insides were in a tangle, her emotions overwhelmed her. She looked up shyly and smiled.

Hotch looked at her and was blown away by the emotions he saw in her eyes. He was a lucky man, in the couple of years he worked with her he had never seen her looking so happy.

"Good morning. Sleep well?" he asked her with a happy smile.

"Yes and no. Did last night really happen?" She asked Hotch. Her eyes searching his face for any sign of regret.

Hotch just grinned. He signaled for coffee, he was not used to being this nervous. He decided that he had to put things at ease for both of them. He looked deep into her eyes and leaned into her and brought his lips onto her cheek. He stayed there long enough to smell her flowery perfume and to feel her soft skin on his lips. As he drew back he noticed that she had placed her hand on his arm which was resting on the table and that she had her eyes closed.

Hotch held his face close to hers and she opened her eyes he looked deeply into them and said," Was waiting to do that since last night." Saying that he took her hand in his and waited for her to respond.

Emily cleared her throat. Tilted her head looked at Hotch ,smiled and said," Should ask Reid if kisses distort sentence formation. I am at a loss for words."

Hotch laughed and shook his head.

Emily looked up, concern clouding her eyes she asked Hotch ," How do we do this Hotch? " she continued " I mean for starters it is against the rules. I don't want the team to be affected, I don't want our productivity to suffer"

Hotch studied her for a moment. He had thought about these things himself and if it were not Emily he would not have taken things to the next level. With her he was confident of a mature partner. She knew what their jobs demanded.

"You know Emily, i decided to talk to you last night only after weighing all the odds. I watched you, after our conversation in California 2 nights ago you had no issues parking those emotions the next day and working with me. You did not let your emotions get in the way of the investigation, you did not manipulate my attention to see if things could go further. It is only then I decided that maybe we had a chance at this. I know I can trust you to compartmentalize our personal equations." Hotch said. He stopped and waited for Emily to respond.

"Gee talk about not profiling each other!" She said, she heard Hotch laugh as she continued ," hmm what about Strauss?" she asked him.

"Emily for now I would like to see where we are headed before taking it to the top brass to and if you do not mind I would like to keep this our little secret for now." He requested of her.

Knowing what he meant she nodded in agreement," Yep I agree, I myself am not ready for the team to start tearing every detail apart. So yeah for now it is just us." She concluded looking up coyly at Hotch.

"Thanks Emily. Let's do dinner tonight? I will text you towards the end of the day" Hotch said.

"Sounds good. Hotch….thank you for making the call last night." Emily said as looked into Hotch. He grinned back at her as he said

"I risked losing so much if I did not make that call." They both stood up as he said this and headed for the door. He walked her to her car and just as she headed towards the door he caught her arm and pulled her towards him, against his chest and kissed her on the forehead.

"Have a nice day", he murmured reluctantly letting her go.


End file.
